DescriptionThis TIROS satellite - ninth in the successful TIROS series built by RCA for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration - is the first spacecraft to "roll" in orbit around world. Its two TV cameras are positioned radially opposite each other so that with each half-turn of the wheel, either camera faces toward the earth. Built by RCA's Astro-Electronics Division the TIROS wheel observes the entire earth and its cloud cover once a day. Abraham Schnapf, RCA's TIROS project manager, shows the spacecraft in its wheel position.
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